1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2. Life facts Born in Portland, Maine
Went to and later taught at Bowdoin College
Also taught at Harvard
Became a full time writer in 1854
First poetry collection: Voices of the Night
Was the first American to translate Dante’s Divine Comedy

3. Wives Mary Potter died in 1835 from a miscarriage
Frances Appleton died in 1861 after her dress caught on fire
The burns Longfellow sustained trying to save her disfigured him, and that’s why he always had a beard thereafter
He was devastated by her death and took to ether and laudanum

4. About his writing Most of his poems are lyric poetry
But very versatile in his forms
Musicality of his poems.
He said, “What a writer asks of a reader is not so much to like as to listen.”

5. Critical response Lauded Best seller—most popular poet of his day
Critics say he played too much to the masses and that he copied European forms of poetry
Poe thought he was the “best poet in America”

6. The Longfellow War
Despite what Poe said about him, Poe later accused Longfellow of plagiarism.
He said Longfellow was “a determined imitator and a dextrous adapter of the ideas of other people.”
Longfellow’s response: “The harshness of his criticisms I have never attributed to anything but the irritation of a sensitive nature chafed by some indefinite sense of wrong”

7. “Paul Revere’s Ride”
Famous first lines, “Listen my children and you will hear/of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”
Tale of Paul Revere who warned Americans if the British were attacking by land or by sea.

8. “Wreck of the Hesperus”
Narrative poem
A ship that sank because of the captain’s pride
Captain ignored approaching storm
Tied his daughter to the mast to protect her
Everyone dies…
obviously

9. “Song of Hiawatha” Epic poem
First realistic depiction of Native Americans

10. “The Children’s Hour” Frequently cited Oft-studied poem
Idealizes family life
Featuring Longfellow’s daughters
Frequently cited
Oft-studied poem

11. Read the poem
With your pencil, underline any words you don’t know or references you don’t get (Bishop who?)
In your journal (#7?):
What is this poem about?
What do you think of the rhythm of the poem?
What is the mood or tone of this poem?
Do you like this poem? Why or why not?

12. Listen

13. How does this interpretation change your perception of the poem?